Stop Your Running
by Kirabaros
Summary: Michael Keppler is new to the crime lab and he gets a surprise when an old friend by the name of Sage Parker is found to be a part of the team. A long overdue conversation about the past comes to light.


**Stop Your Running**

The day seemed like all the others. You clocked in, worked the case you were on, solved it, moved on and then you had your day in court if it got that far. For Michael Keppler it was a routine almost; chasing the bad guys and collecting the evidence. He was a quiet man in general but considered to be a good CSI. He had come to Vegas with good recommendations from Baltimore.

Originally he was hired for the day shift at the Las Vegas Crime Lab but currently he was borrowed by the graveyard shift while the supervisor Gil Grissom was on sabbatical. He got along well with the team and the acting supervisor Catherine Willows had taken him under his wing. There was one other who did as well and she came as a total surprise on the first case that he worked on.

As he walked through the lab, Mike found himself outside the door of the office of a person that he never thought he would cross paths again. Peering in, he saw her, looking like she did when he would unexpectedly or expectedly drop by. She was bent over a file or report and was reading it intently, the thin wire framed glasses were perched precariously on the tip of her nose and looked in danger of falling off. She was as he remembered.

Knocking on the doorframe he announced himself, "Hello Sage."

Sage looked up from the report she was reading on her current case. She was actually solo on this one and it looked like it would be chalked up to the dog doing it but she was still waiting on the final autopsy report. That went away when she saw Mike standing in her door. She smiled and replied, "Mike, come on in." She motioned him in.

Mike stepped into the office that he heard housed a Southern hurricane. He couldn't doubt that since he knew firsthand. He looked around at her office and noticed that her taste in decorating hadn't changed. He did notice a photo on the bookcase and pointed at it, "Boyfriend?"

Sage glanced over to see what he was pointing at. "No. More like my little brother. Greg and I were going bungee jumping. It was when I was a probie." She looked at Mike and asked, "So how are things going? The rest of the team treating you okay?"

"You should know," Mike replied with a slight smile as he looked down at her. She would know how things were going. She always seemed to know.

"And you looked like you were hit by a two by four when I walked in. I guess that rules out following me to Vegas," Sage replied with a slight smile as she teased him. She looked him over with a discerning eye and noted that he was still in the habit of wearing a suit and tie to the job. "It is good to see again. I was afraid that you'd hate me for leaving."

Mike returned the favor and looked her over. She hadn't really changed that much. She still wore the look that was her; the short hair, dog collar and the look that she was a college student especially when she carried that beat up bag of hers. Yet there was something distinctly different about her that he quite couldn't put his finger on but first blush told him that it was a good thing. Gently he used his index finger to push her glasses back on her nose and replied, "I'm not mad Sage. I understand why you did what you did… better than most people."

"Still running from that?"

Mike knew what she was talking about as he studied her. It was no use to scold her about bringing it up since he more or less told her the truth. He told her when they worked on their second case together when Metro borrowed him in another cross jurisdiction case. "You know me," he said softly.

"Not really," Sage replied automatically softly touching upon the old joke they had that started when they first met. "But I guess I shouldn't really talk."

"It wasn't your fault," Mike said. "You tried and that is important. I didn't and that's why I'm still… running."

Sage looked at Mike intently. "You have matured some. You admit that you are still running."

"It was Amy."

"I know." Sage nodded at that. She knew the story. "She was a nice girl from what you told me. It is easy to run from such a terrible thing. The memories… they are painful." She looked at Mike and he looked at her. "I left Metro because of a reputation that I didn't want sullied with my being there."

"I know. I guess Vegas is the place to run to."

"Maybe," Sage admitted. She gave a gentle smile, "But at least I was able to start over and find my place here."

"Like your little brother," Mike replied smiling as he gestured towards the picture. "Are you sure you two aren't…?"

"Brother and sister, Mike," Sage confirmed with a smile and a chuckle. "Greg will tell you the same thing. It made the difference when I came in. Could be the same for you."

"Is that an invitation to getting back together?"

Sage sobered at that. She knew that Mike was teasing but… Mike sensed that he hadn't said the right thing and apologized, "I'm sorry Sage. You know I didn't mean to hurt you."

"We both knew that it wasn't going to work," Sage replied with a pensive expression on her face. "You still love Amy and as for me… I knew that while we got along, it wasn't the kind of thing that I wanted. It was better that way."

"But it still hurt you. You don't deserve that," Mike said.

"Rejection always hurts Mike. I've had it all my life. At least I sort of picked myself up and moved on."

"So you married your work?"

"Not really. Don't get me wrong, being a super at Metro was good but here… I'm happy even with the profiler label hanging over my head."

"It wouldn't have taken them long to figure out how good you are with that." Mike gave a slow smile. "So you have someone?"

"Being nosy?"

"I just want you happy Sage," Mike said in a reassuring way. "Being with you, it was like a balm and you are right. I still think about Amy a lot and you did help me with your psychobabble. It's a gift of yours."

Sage looked up at Mike as she contemplated what he said. He was a good man and she knew that by the way they worked their cases when they were together. "Someone else told me that and I think I'm starting to believe in it." She gave a wry smile at that since she suspected that he guessed at a few things.

"And I'm sure it is the boyfriend," Mike teased, "Because he knows what to look for." He sobered as he looked at her. "Stop running from what happened."

"Funny because I think I told you the same thing," Sage replied in a mock frown. She took in the serious and sober expression Mike was giving her. "If you want the truth, I have stopped running. My partner helped in that endeavor… especially when I thought it was going to happen again here." She put her hands on his shoulders, "So are you going to stop running?"

Mike paused a moment. So that was why she was different. She had stopped running and it seemed that her partner was responsible for it. He could also conclude that there was more to that relationship than what was said and guessed that it was someone she worked closely with. He could assume safely that what she said about her and Greg was true. That left two others and one was eliminated based upon status so…

"Michael Keppler, are you going to stop running?"

Mike gave a slow smile when he heard his full name spoken by her. She still scolded like a bossy mom and he could recall the first time she did that to him. He looked at her with a somber face and hers was equally somber. "No promises."

Sage nodded in acceptance. "Everything in its own time. It's the way of all things."

"Still reading Ecclesiastes?"

"Always," Sage replied with a smile. "And I say a prayer for you and Amy."

Mike smiled at that. "No promises but I will try."

"All anyone can ask," Sage replied. She gave the man a gentle hug and stepped back. "Glad that you're here Mike. Maybe you might find the thing you need to stop."

Mike allowed himself to be shooed out of Sage's office. He had expected the hug from her since she was the spontaneous type to do that and it seemed that she still had a knack for giving a request quietly and it was instantly obeyed. Certainly he felt it when she told him to shoo. He turned to give her one last look and found that she had already gone back to work.

As he walked towards his office, Mike thought about their conversation. It was a long time coming since they hadn't really parted as amicably as people thought. It happened to coincide with Ripley's death and among other things. Yet it seemed he was given another chance and it seemed to have gone well. They were friends at least in her mind as he watched Nick Stokes seek her out. The reaction had him thinking a bit and he smiled. She had stopped running. Maybe he could too and it was already looking pretty good so far.

* * *

**A/N:** Just a drabble involving CSI Michael Keppler along with OFC Sage Parker. Enjoy.


End file.
